Watch for Penrith bench forward Trent Waterhouse running at the space between the two defenders closest to the ruck. If Morley is the closer man, he will race across to crunch Waterhouse, who has the ability to slip the ball back to the space the big Englishman left.

Penrith forwards Martin Lang, Joel Clinton and Ben Ross run one-out but the back row prefer to run a course slightly to the outside of the nearest defender. This is usually not a good tactic because it can cause the entire attack to migrate to the sideline. But it works against the Roosters because the ball carrier is "running away" from the defence, denying it a big hit.

Should second-rowers Joe Galuvao or Tony Puletua, or Waterhouse, pop a ball back to a quick man like Preston Campbell, Craig Gower, Ryan Girdler, Rhys Wesser, or even lock Scott Sattler, it could be try time.

These players, together with hooker Luke Priddis, will be more dangerous from dummy-half than the Bulldogs' Adam Perry, who could not take advantage of a fast play-the-ball last week.

The Roosters employ a racing, up-and-in defence that has been exposed on Chris Walker's right-hand side of the field.

Commentators have highlighted Walker racing in to tangle with an inside man, even in situations where the number of attackers and defenders is equal.

But the attack can waste time setting up the opportunity to outflank that side. The Walker option will come.

With Craig Wing at dummy-half, the Penrith defence can't race up and crunch the man to whom he is expected to pass, lest Wing zip off himself.

But Wing rarely tries to beat the defence behind the ruck, meaning the markers can edge towards assisting in a tackle on a one-out forward.

Wing prefers to run between the second and third defenders off the ruck, hoping the wider man will take a dummy to a support, allowing him to slice through.

This means the markers don't have to waste energy chasing wide when Wing is in dummy-half.

Wing will beat them anyway. It's better to reform for the next ruck, or be prepared for the possibility of Wing turning the ball back inside to captain Brad Fittler. Wing is a brilliant read-and-react player.

Watch him closely on video and he actually studies who and where the defenders line up.

If a player has just made a tackle, or is lazy, or a big man is caught wide, or another drops off tackles, he will wait for the right combination and exploit it.

Despite Penrith's inexperience, the Roosters probably would have preferred to play the Warriors again.

The Warriors' up-and-hold defence gives Wing, Fittler and Finch more time to exercise their options.

After 26 rounds and two finals matches each, the Panthers and Roosters have produced one identical statistic, achieved in two distinctly different ways.

Penrith is the No.1 team for hit-ups and metres gained at the ruck, gaining 5000 metres in that fashion.

The Roosters kick more than anyone else and have achieved the most territory - 5000 metres - from the tactic.

The big picture view, therefore, means this grand final comes down to how hard and fast the Panthers punch the ball up and how far the Roosters kick and how quickly they chase.

The Panthers don't change their game plan but the Roosters have demonstrated a capacity to play a different style to suit their personnel and adjust to opposition weaknesses and strengths.

The Panthers miss more tackles than any team but have the third-best cover defence.

Penrith have missed 879 tackles to Manly's 876 (who played two fewer games) and the Bulldogs 846.

The Bulldogs were also No.1 in cover, ahead of Brisbane (who have fullback Darren Lockyer) but NRL statistics rank the Panthers third.

They have stopped 140 potential try-scoring movements, with Wesser the No.1 break-saver in the competition.

Recent history says the Panthers are not intimidated by the Roosters.

Chairman Barry Walsh points out the Panthers have won six of their past 10 meetings and three of the previous four, meaning the statistics include seasons when Penrith was down and the Roosters on top.

But grand finals are different.

The half-hour build up to the kick-off can unsettle players who have never been out on the field in this position before, especially at night in a stadium where the Panthers' first experience was last Sunday afternoon.

Finally, injuries will play a role.

Club doctors play injuries up and down.

Roosters utility Chris Flannery will need a shoulder reconstruction when the season is over and Fittler will require two weeks' rest to allow his left shoulder to settle before surgery.

The Roosters are probably the most pain tolerant and patient club in the league.

If Fittler is replaced, the premiers will lose the man who has taught them the virtue of patience.